Max Clifford: court of appeal hears attempt to challenge conviction

12/03/2019

Max Clifford denied “until his death” that he had sexually assaulted young women, a court has heard. The celebrity publicist’s case is being scrutinised by judges more than a year after he died aged 74 while serving an eight-year prison sentence for indecent assault. Before his death from heart failure in December 2017, he won…

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Max Clifford denied “until his death” that he had sexually assaulted young women, a court has heard.

The celebrity publicist’s case is being scrutinised by judges more than a year after he died aged 74 while serving an eight-year prison sentence for indecent assault.

Before his death from heart failure in December 2017, he won the right to appeal against his conviction.

Clifford’s daughter, Louise, who has continued the challenge on his behalf, was at the hearing in London on Tuesday.

Sarah Forshaw QC, for Clifford, told Lady Justice Rafferty, Mr Justice Goss and Sir Brian Keith that in relation to the importance of the appeal, the fact that he had died did not matter “one jot”.

Clifford, from Hersham in Surrey, was jailed in May 2014 after being convicted at Southwark crown court in London of a string of indecent assaults, carried out between 1977 and 1984.

He had claimed his accusers were “fantasists” and denied the charges. Clifford was sentenced to a total of eight years on eight counts of indecent assault relating to four victims.

Forshaw told the three judges the grounds for appeal related to “fresh evidence” and “misdirections or inadequate directions” by the trial judge.

“I say that with the greatest respect to the trial judge, who was steering a lengthy and difficult trial,” she added.

One of the complaints was the “removal” of the issue of consent, or “belief in consent”, from the jury.

Forshaw said that if the court found Clifford’s convictions on the eight counts, or some of them, were “unsafe”, then the fact he was dead “won’t matter one jot”.

She said that in his first police interview, Clifford said: “I wish to emphasise that I have never forced any female to engage in any form of sexual activity with me against their will.”

Forshaw added: “So it was [that] he flatly denied the scenarios these women were painting. The complainants were painting scenarios involving forced sexual activity, which he would always deny, and denied until his death.”

Sentencing Clifford after his trial, the judge, Anthony Leonard, said his personality and position in the public eye were the reasons his crimes did not emerge earlier.

The former celebrity agent vowed to clear his name, claiming he was wrongly convicted.

The court later reserved its judgment. No date for a ruling was given.

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